Coproduction Office has added members to Club Zero with multiple buyers snapping up Jessica Hausner’s psychological drama at the EFM.
The ensemble film set at an elite boarding school sold to Bac Films in France, Klockworx in Japan, Academy Two in Italy, Karma in Spain, September Films in Benelux, Camera in Denmark, Praesens Film in Switzerland, Bio Paradis in Iceland, Alambique in Portugal, Ama Films in Greece, New Horizons in Poland, Vertigo in Hungary, Independenta in Romania, Filmstop Inspiration in the Baltic countries and Front Row in the Middle East. Filmladen will release the film locally in Austria.
Shot in Oxford and currently in post-production, Club Zero stars Mia Wasikowska, Mathieu Demy, Elsa Zylberstein and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
Wasikowska plays a charismatic teacher who joins the prestigious school and introduces a new subject to students she calls “conscious eating”. Under her lead, the teenage students begin to challenge social norms by reducing their food consumption, until things begin to take a dangerous turn.
Buzz has been brewing for a slot in Cannes for what will be Austrian director Hausner’s sixth feature and follow-up to 2019 Cannes Competition title Little Joe, which won the best actress prize for star Emily Beecham. Her previous films Lovely Rita (2001), Hotel (2004) and Amour Fou (2014) all premiered in Cannes in Un Certain Regard and her 2009 film Lourdes competed in Venice that year. With a slated spring 2023 delivery date and Hausner’s track record, it is a strong contender for a Croisette appearance come May.
Coproduction Office’s Nadine Rothschild said of the sales: “Buyers are actively pre-buying again. The first images of the film are striking, Jessica has an outstanding eye for colour, and with the contemporary topics (education, parenthood, information, media, sustainability) that Club Zero examines, the film is finding a home in several countries.”
Club Zero is produced by Austria’s Coop99, Germany’s Essential Films, the UK’s Club Zero Ltd., France’s Parisienne and Denmark’s Paloma Productions. Bruno Wagner, Philippe Bober, Mike Goodridge, Johannes Schubert head up production with BBC Film’s Eva Yates on as executive producer and Per Damgaard Hansen as co-producer.
Also on board are the Austrian Film Institute, Vienna Film Fund, Film Industry Support Austria (FISA), Eurimages - Council of Europe, ORF (Film/Television Agreement), ARTE France Cinema & ZDF/Arte (Grand Accord), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Doha Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute, Lower Austria Production Support, France’s CNC and BBC Film.
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